Oklahoma City, OK – Naif Abdulaziz M. Alfallaj, 34, a Saudi national living in Weatherford, Oklahoma, is facing serious federal charges after allegedly lying about his past ties to Al Qaeda. Alfallaj was arrested Monday and indicted Wednesday on charges of visa fraud and making false statements to the FBI – specifically, concealing his attendance at an Al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan back in 2000.
Federal investigators claim they discovered Alfallaj’s fingerprints on an application to al Farooq, a known Al Qaeda training facility in Afghanistan. The document was recovered from an Al Qaeda safe house by U.S. military forces. The application reportedly included a contact number for Alfallaj’s father in Saudi Arabia, linking him directly to the camp. This revelation flies in the face of statements Alfallaj made when he first entered the U.S. in 2011 on a visa tied to his wife’s student status.
According to the indictment, Alfallaj fraudulently obtained and possessed a visa from March 2012 to the present. He allegedly used that fraudulent visa in October 2016 to enroll in flight school lessons at a private Oklahoma institution. But the lies didn’t stop there. During an FBI interview related to a terrorism investigation, Alfallaj allegedly denied any association with foreign terrorist groups – a claim now directly contradicted by the fingerprint evidence and recovered application.
“Protecting our national security is the highest priority of the Department of Justice,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester of the Western District of Oklahoma. The investigation was a collaborative effort, drawing resources from multiple agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Secret Service, and several Oklahoma law enforcement departments. Despite the serious nature of the charges, FBI Special Agent in Charge Kathryn Peterson attempted to downplay any wider threat, claiming the case appears to be “an isolated incident” based on historical data.
If convicted on both counts of visa fraud, Alfallaj faces up to ten years in prison per count. The charge of making a false statement involving international terrorism carries a potential sentence of up to eight years. Beyond potential incarceration, Alfallaj is almost certain to face deportation proceedings once the criminal case concludes. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force continues to investigate, though officials maintain there is no current indication of a broader threat.
It’s crucial to remember that these are merely allegations at this stage. Naif Abdulaziz M. Alfallaj is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma, with assistance from the FBI and its JTTF partners. The public can find further details in the criminal complaint and indictment filed with the court.
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Key Facts
- Agency: U.S. Secret Service
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Press Release
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